Exploring More of Vietnam Part 3.

Hue: Emperors' Tombs

After a very pleasant 4o minute boat trip we arrived at Thien Mu Pagoda.
This was a special place with a true spiritual feeling to it.

Early on day 3 we were met at the hotel by our guide and walked down to the boats on the river. This was a pleasant 40 minute boat trip up the river to  Tien Mu Pagoda. This pagoda and temple was very interesting. When we arrived the monks were blessing fish to be released back into the river. Our guide was excellent at explaining things. He also took us around the back of the temple to show us the Austin that was the car that the Monk Quang Duc drove himself to Saigon in 1963. When he arrived at his destination he got out and set himself on fire as a form of protest against the discriminating policies against Buddhists. I remember the famous photograph of him in flames. Isn’t it amazing what pops up in faraway places.

Every day the monks bless some fish that htey return to the river.

The blessed fish about to be returned to the river.

In 1963 Thich Quang Duc drove his Austin to Saigon, the capital of Vietnam.

When he arrived he got out of his car and set himself alight,
 in protest of the treatment of Buddhists.

From there we were driven by car to Minh Mang’s Tomb. This was simply amazing, it included 24 hectares and is said to resemble Utopia. There were amazing  temples and gardens with pleasant lakes within the walls of this tomb. What a lot of effort went into building this Tomb. Apparently Minh Mang was one of the greatest of the Nguyen Emperors ruling 1820-1840.The honour courtyard has an interesting set of statues along with three gates that closely resemble those seen at the Imperial City at the Citadel.

The Tomb of Minh Mang is considered the most Utopian tomb of Hue.
It covers and area of 24 hectares and is simply amazing.

From here we visited Khai Dinh’s tomb which was smaller and quite different. There was a strong French influence to this tomb. The interior was very impressive. Khai Dinh ruled at the end of the Nguyen Empire 1916-1925. I must say once again I was left in awe of the amount of effort that thesed emperors went to to ensure that they had a prime spot for their afterlife.

Khai Dinh was the last Nguyen Emperor and his tomb had a strong French influence.
It was smaller in area but had many grand features.

The Honour Courtyard has an interesting array of characters protecting him.

We were lucky to have the opportunity to visit Tu Duc’s tomb as well. Tu Duc 1847-1882 killed his brother to take power. His tomb has a very interesting Lotus pond with pavilion that makes a delightful setting for enjoying the beauty of this setting. Also in this tomb there was an interesting area with a temple where once he lived while the tomb was being built. Out the back were the living quarters for his 104 wives. At this stage this area is flattened but it resembles a small village. There are some interesting stories to be told about this emperor. 

Tu Duc killed his brother to ascend the throne. His tomb was grand.
This pavilion was a place where he would drink Lotus tea while
overseeing the construction of his tomb.

The lotus flowers growing in the pond are a special feature of this tomb.

The lotus blooms were not at their best, but we were treated to the
occasional great bloom. The tomb had a very serene relaxed feel to it. 

On our way home we stopped off at a small village where incense and conical hats were being made. We did buy a couple of hats and some incense.  It was a big day in the heat and we were pleased to get back a relax in the hotel. We did reflect on yet another interesting day in an amazing country.